Do you ever look at the last year and think really? That was all I had to give? Sometimes I do that. I look back over the last year and know that I worked out 5 days a week, maybe only skipping a day or two here and there due to illness or what not….but I showed up 5 days a week and worked out. I completed the entire body beast program, I did the C25K program, random work outs with the Pop Sugar Fitness girls. And yet here I sit, looking back over the last year and where is the change I wanted to see?
Sure, I can certainly see more muscle definition in my arms, back, shoulders, and legs. But what about my trouble area? You know the area I am talking about. The one that stares at you in the face every time you look in the mirror or see a picture of yourself.
I am not going to discredit myself and say that the last year was a waste, because it certainly was not. I am stronger than I have ever been. I have more energy than I have had in awhile. I have more endurance than I could imagine. Just a year ago, I could barely cut the grass without wanting to die and now I can do the whole thing like a beast.
But what I also have had this last year is a plateau. The scale isn’t budging. It hasn’t budged at all. In fact, due to muscle gain it went up a few pounds. And we can sit here and say all day that the scale doesn’t matter and blah blah blah. But I call bullshit.
I want more.
We all know that abs are made in the kitchen. I do pretty good during the week, but I am not perfect. And the weekends? Well, I end up snacking on the same things that Chris does because it is easy and if he is having cheese sticks, well I should have some too! And I deserve a burger and fries because I have been good all week, right? And a few beers would be nice because last week was super stressful. And pasta? Sure, why not.
No more excuses.
I know that if I do not try harder, and cut more….I am not going to see a change. I am going to stay on this plateau. Just keep being ok instead of being awesome. Because I KNOW that I have it in me. I know that I can do better.
I started making small changes last week. Last night when I got home, I got two awesome packages in the mail!
I received The No More Excuses book to review. I am so excited to dive in to this! It looks like it has some great work outs and some healthy advice. I will have a review on it when I am done. Also, Mia sent me some Spark to try.
I have been pinning some new recipes, and I want to bring back a 6th day of work outs. I want to get serious about giving yoga a real shot this time. I am going to make Yoga Sundays a thing. Alyssa, Tracy and Kristen have all encouraged me in some way or another and I think I am ready.
I also plan on cleaning up the eating even more. I have lots of room for improvement, especially on the weekends. I plan to do just that. I think I am finally in the right mindset of needing to fuel my body with better things to feel better. It has taken forever to get here, but I am here.
So I am linking up with Training for Tuesday because I am on a new training plan. Healthy insides makes for a healthy outside! No more excuses!!! Who is with me?
31 Comments
You’ve got my support 100%! I know you can do this!! 🙂 Also, let me know how that Spark stuff is — I’d like to try it out….. eventually.
i give you the highest of fives. when i first started my journey, i was 37 and worked out like a mofo…but my eating wasn’t as clean as it could have been. unlike my husband who can sort of workout, eat like shit and practically lose half his body weight in two fucking weeks, i am not like that #rage. when i didn’t see any results (even though i felt stronger, could do more things etc), I WANTED TO SEE RESULTS, DAMMIT. call me vain or whatever but that shit motivates me. then i realized what i was doing (ok, it was more like “admitting” to what i was doing) and knew that my old teenage diet (eating whatever and working out) won’t fly anymore because of my age, hormones, slow ass whore of a metabolism due to age etc etc etc and i needed to *really* eat clean in order to see results. when i did that, things changed dramatically. when i started muay thai, my body changed even more (which surprised me since that wasn’t my intent) and cutting grains further leaned me out which again, wasn’t my intent.
i fully support your stricter clean eating plan. it’s going to be hard at first but my approach was this: 100% strict clean eating until i learned the discipline of being able to walk away and not even feel any kind of “deprivation”. you know what i mean – you see people eating amazing things and you think I WANT SOME THIS IS NOT FAIR PUT IT IN MY MOUTH and you feel like you’re depriving yourself of goodness. so i cut everything out – EVERYTHING – for a good six months until i could look at it and not feel a thing. then i slowly started letting it back in my diet in a very controlled way (ie. my once a year dessert on my birthday) and now, it’s once a month (but only for very very worthy desserts) during our once a month fancy dating.
writing things down also helped me stay accountable. for me, planning is key to sticking to my clean eating and it would make me think about what i was eating. if i wanted to eat something that wasn’t part of my clean eating, i would stop and think, do i really want to see this on my list of what i ate today? most of the time, the answer would be No so i would put it down and back away LOL
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!
Nadine I love this SO MUCH.
you are so awesome and inspiring.
first off, if you need to text me or want me to text you, you know i’m down!
you can absolutely do this!!
i call bullshit on the scale as well. yes, it matters. so do all those other non scale victories, but the scale matters too. and what i see in the mirror matters.
i eat like shit. last night i had cereal and bacon for dinner, and this morning the scale hadn’t gone down, and i get mad at it / my body for not losing any weight, but it’s my fault! end of story. no more excuses. i justify everything i eat – well so and so is doing it, i’ve been good, i’m not fat, who cares it’s just one burger, it’s just one tub of ice cream… i don’t get up in the mornings because i tell myself i’ll workout later. false. i’m so lazy. i need to just get over it and do shit because life is not gonna change unless i do. i really need to clean up my act in the kitchen though. you’re so inspiring girly. and that book looks awesome!
yoga sundays! yay!!! yes!! it’s gonna be awesome, i promise 🙂
good luck girl – you can so do this!
You so can do this!! You are completely right, no more excuses. I so need to get back on track and this post totally inspires me to get back on track and NOW. Not tomorrow. Thanks for the kick in the pants.
YES! Good for you – You are inspiring me today!
No more Excuses – and I follow that chick on Instagram and FB – She’s amazing.
I am with you on this. 🙂
Wishing you loads of luck!!! You can do it!! I’m also trying to get my life together and get in shape and it’s so motivating to read blogs where others are doing the same thing. It’s kinda like we’re all doing this together! I should probably jump on the Training for Tuesday bus to keep myself accountable. lol
YAY! You are going to have so many new adventures, I love finding ways to cook healthier. It’s like a personal challenge to take recipes I love and make them healthier, cleaner, lighter. For example, I LOVE sweet and sour chicken. So we do grilled chicken and veggie/pineapple kebobs that have been marinated and basted with sweet and sour sauce. Totally clean? No. But 100% gives me the same soul deep satisfaction. I have been doing yoga classes 2x/week for the past 2 months, girl it is legit! I sleep so much better, have less shoulder tension, and am getting fewer headaches. LOVE IT! You will have to let me know how you like spark– I still haven’t tried it yet.
You’ve got this girl! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on that book. I’m not a huge reader, but life & fitness type books are my fave when I’m looking for a read. I feel like I am constantly changing things up, finding what works best for me & makes me feel the best. I stay on track very easily during the week and loosely track on the weekends. Usually this works great for me, but the last couple weekends stuff has come up and I’ve indulged a little too much, I feel it that next week for sure- My energy, body and the scale. I’m trying to focus on that a little more right now. Glad you got your Spark!
I know I could see better results if I cleaned up my eating more. You go girl!
I am on week 2 of the C25k! I tried it last year but never finished it, but I am determined to finish it this time around. In January I also started the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide workout, well I slacked off a lot but last night I was laying in bed all ready to go to bed and for some reason got up and did the first day workout. But I am determined just like you to get away from that plateau. I also started this new Super Shred Diet…but I modified it a little because I wanted to be honest with myself and not take away everything I enjoy…it is a 4 week diet, but I am doing the diet basically Monday-Thursday and then picking back up where I left off…I know I won’t get the same results but after 13 days I have lost 2 pounds and that is an accomplishment because I have been seeing the same number since last August!
Great post!! The scale is my own worst enemy as well. You’ve got this!!! Also, you will love Spark! I used to drink it, and I loved it!
Girlfriend – you are reading my mind. I just had this same talk with myself this morning!
Girl, this is the best post! I feel like a lot of us are going through this right now.
Awesome post, I love that you are really digging deep and I truly believe that if anyone can do it, it’s Nadine. Keep on Keepin’ on and I am so happy that you share your journey with all of us, makes it easier to do it when you know you are not the only one going through struggles and issues that come up here and there. This is real life and you don’t skimp on the truth, which I appreciate.
You can do it!!! I promise no more mac and cheese recipes – only healthy ones! hahaha. I need to get my butt in gear too, especially after I let everything slip with being sick. The good news is once you start doing it consistently it gets easier.
You got this girl! That Spark mix in pink lemonade is my favorite! I feel like you’re doing it right by making small, gradual changes so you don’t burn yourself out. And weekends are definitely the hardest with all the birthday parties, celebrations etc…all that comes with unhealthy food and way too many wine calories haha. But don’t get discouraged about muscle gain! You burn more cals with muscle than with fat! You’re going to rock it I just know it. 🙂
LOVE this! I also hit a plateau recently, and saw the scale go up a bit due to muscle gain. Butttt like you I’m pretty good during the week, and indulge on the weekends. I’ve decided to start cutting back alcohol intake, and got a spiralizer to make zoodles for pasta. Little changes here and there hopefully will help. You’ve got this gurlie! And look at that muscle gain as extra calorie burners 😉
You go girl!! Your post has inspired me a lot today. I’ve got an injury that is going to keep me away from almost ALL workouts for 6 weeks so I’ve been feeling very discouraged about my health/fitness goals. However- your post reminded me that I can keep working on eating better and other various good habits too. You have done so awesome on the workouts and I know you will keep seeing improvements!! 🙂
One of my favorite expressions is, “Abs are made in the kitchen and revealed in the gym.” It’s definitely a two-pronged approach, and I think the best time to start working on the other is now—now that you’ve got the first one down pat. You’re doing great in your workout routine and it’s a good time to add another layer of a personal challenge. I’m more than happy to offer any advice I can on kicking Yoga Sundays into gear—I think this is a great decision! (Obviously, haha.) You have GOT this! Thanks so much for linking up. Can’t wait to watch your progress!
You go! I am all about health and not appearance, but I don’t think it’s wrong to be motivated by looks. If losing weight will make you feel more confident or satisfied with yourself, then go for it. But I would suggest using measurements, as well as weight, to gauge how you’re doing. Because you might see the changes in inches before on the scale, especially if you’re lifting weights. And weight fluctuates so much throughout each day!
Sunday is my yoga day, too! I don’t do anything nearly as hardcore as the ladies you mentioned, but it feels so awesome to stretch everything out at the end of the week. I always feel like I’m undoing the damage from my other exercise.
I feel like you wrote this post for me girl!! I was so good last year about working out diligently and then this year it’s been so much harder for me, but thank you for the inspiration! xo, Biana
You got this, girl!!! Those damn plateaus! I’m so excited that you are on your way. It’s so hard when my hubby comes in with tasty foods. Believe it or not, I think I have him inspired now to do get on the Shred Wagon. lol I’m really excited! I look forward to your posts. We will keep each other motivated! Good luck! I know you will do well.
Eating is the hardest and worst part of the journey! The hardest part for me has been trying to figure out how to eat for my body. But the fact that you have the determination is more than half the battle! You got this!!!
I GET this. I’ve worked out every day and haven’t made great improvement in my trouble area. And my butt is bigger from all the squats! I also do well during the week (aside from sweets. Ugh) but struggle on weekends with pizza, snacks, and booze. I’m completely in the same boat and am interested in following your journey! I can’t wait to hear what you think of Spark!
What a fun way to kick start yourself with your prizes from the mail! A good motivator. You can DO this. 🙂
Im super curious about that Spark stuff. I am wanting to do it once baby gets here! Youll have to let me know how you like it.
Consistency with the diet really does make the most difference. Working out and diet is where it is at!! Good luck I am sure you will rock it.
Woo you go girl! You sound ready to kick ass and take names! I’m totally guilty of always looking back and feeling like or wishing I had done more too. I think it’s important to be proud of what we’ve already done but still look forward to what’s ahead. There’s always room for improvement. Can’t wait to cheer you on in this next phase!
this is amazing for you!! i can’t wait to hear even more about it!!
[…] I just say how amazing this community is? I had so many people encouraging and in believing in me yesterday and that felt great. Some of you even said you were in the same place. I just love how we can all […]
I love this so much!! Consistency bears results trust me!